Soon, there will be a bill in the house to enlarge the powers of the FDA. As near as anyone I know can figure, this mess will eventually force farmers to provide paperwork in abundance as to what fertilizers were used, when, codes on packages, etc. I say eventually, because they and restaurants are excluded... for now...so they say...

Organic Fertilizers (poo) will require even more paperwork & according to one person I work with who has researched this some, will possibly allow for enough regulations to make it difficult to use OF's on crops for human consumption. Seems to be up to the whim of the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Here is a link to an abbreviated version of the bill. (the downfall with Congress.org, is they seem to only show the reported or claimed intent, not the loopholes that can be manipulated.)Congress.org - Current Legislation

It seems that parts 1,2, & 4 are more control & more / larger Gov't agencies for Americans to enjoy, part 3 does manage to knuckle down on imported foods & force importers to be more responsible. They must also verify the actual sources of the foods they're bringing in.

Please do your own research, and advise your representatives how you feel about this.

This may be a red herring, I have not personally had the time to read up on this in depth, but I thought it better to get it out there & let people correct my misconceptions, than not say anything & have another unread bill go thru the House.

Side Note: The Senate passed a similar bill to overhaul the nation's food safety rules. Shortly after passage, it was pointed out the bill contains revenue raising provisions and the constitution requires bills that raise revenue to originate in the House. At this time, the strategy to move the bill forward was unclear.

It seems impossible to me that the American public will be concerned about global warming[hah], the supposed plight of the polar bears, who is going to win dancing with the stars etc, and not care a bit about where their groceries come from. The American small family farm has been systematically destroyed over the last 60 or so years with stupid laws, rules, and inheritance taxes and laws. The American farmer is the one who will have to pull our chestnuts out of the fire when this system of Govt control leads to inevitable failure. People cannot seem to realize that when there are no groceries in the store at any price, they are going to get hungry. You can put up with about anything except hunger. In VietNam, and Cambodia, I saw the face of hunger and desperation. If we as voters do not start questioning and verifying our lawmakers as to their stand on these issues, and holding their feet to the fire when they let the FDA,FCC,OSHA etc desk jockeys make these grabs for control. And lets face it, this is not about protecting the people, it is about CONTROL.

From my non farmer point of view.
How is a family supposed to become farmers today? Land prices are prohibative, equipment price is unbelievable, property taxes take a bite out of you, the next gen wants to sell the property for a subdivison, healthcare cost, regulations, etc... The only people that can make money at farming is the corporations with MBAs and lobbiest (where do you think the new ideas for regs come from). The only bright light I see is that politicans can starve just like everybody else.

Being a high school agriculture teacher and a former farm boy, I am very close to the subject of agricultural literacy. It's amazing how little, even in our rural community, kids know about where their food and fiber comes from. I begin my year with my 9th graders with such questions as: Where does cotton come from? What's a female goat called? etc. You may be surprised (or not) how many answer sheep for both of them. I have a hard enough time getting them to understand what a heifer is much less the scientific aspects of agriculture. Many of you may remember our former famous governor Jesse Ventura. I didn't agree with much he had to say but he spoke at our state FFA convention while in office. He mentioned how we, as a society, are more and more generations removed from production agriculture. He made some very valid points. I even see a difference between now and when I began 13 years ago. More and more kids raise their hands when I mention Great-Grandparents than ever before. When I began teaching, the students in my shop classes knew so much more and had so much more experience because Dad or Grandpa would have them by their sides at the farm. Now I have to explain what ratchets and sockets are and what they're used for.

I miss my time on the farm and would do almost anything to have the experiences again. If not for me, for my own children. Truth of the matter is, my Dad had to rent out his land because He and Mom couldn't make it on their 300 acres of corn and soybeans. My family wouldn't even come close. About the only way to get into "family farming" is to inherit a farm or multiple farms and that is becoming less and less possible as investors and large farmers or groups that suspiciously call themselves cooperatives are taking over our families' land.

Yes, God Bless those of you who hold up when times are tough and put up with those critical non-farmers when you have that one good year out of 10.

With my 9th graders I also have a small unit on why people still farm. Yes, some farmers could sell off the land, the equipment, the cows, etc. and probably make a decent living off the interest (when rates are decent anyway). Why do you still farm? It's in your soul, your blood, your family history and to take that away is more devestating than any flood or drought could ever be.

This hits home with maybe 25% of my Exploring Agriculture class. The rest just shake their heads and wonder why their teacher is almost in tears.